Friday, December 9, 2011

BASIC Cake Recipe

Everyone’s making cakes. Birthdays, Wedding Anniversary, Christmas, New years Eve, the indulging season is here again. Recently, many people have asked me how you go about making a Basic Cake. Well, there are two methods. The first Basic Cake recipe does not require an electric hand-mixer. The second Basic cake recipe involving a creaming method may require an electric hand-mixer (although in my days in the catering college, we struggled while creaming the fat with our palms!). To check whether the cake is cooked, insert a fork in the centre, if the fork comes out clean, the cake is cooked. While mixing the cake ingredients, be sure to mix in one direction, either clockwise or anti clockwise direction, to make the cake light and fluffy.

1st Basic (Sponge) Cake Recipe

Ingredients

Eggs 3

Vanilla Essence or Nutmeg ¼ tspn

Sugar 90g

Flour 90g

Baking Powder (sieved with the flour) ¼ tspn

Butter, melted 60g

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Beat the eggs with an egg beater. Slowly incorporate the sugar and beat the eggs and the sugar together, until it foams up. Add in vanilla essence. Do not over-beat, once the foam has formed, lightly beat for 1 minute.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Incorporate the flour and melting butter part by part.

Add in a part of the flour from the side, fold it into the egg mixture from the side, with the help of a flat spoon or spatula. Be sure not to over mix, to keep the mixture light and fluffy.

Incorporate one part of butter in a similar manner. Slowly, add in all the flour and all the butter into the egg mixture.

Mix it along the sides, so as to avoid over mixing.

Grease a cake mould with fat on all sides and dust it with flour, to avoid the cake from sticking onto the mould OR Line the cake mould with butter paper on all sides.

Turn the cake batter into the mould, tap it on the bottom to even it on top.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 180 degree Celsius.

Cool it for ten minutes.

You may loosen the sides with the knife before turning the mould onto a plate.

2nd Basic Cake Recipe (Creaming Method)

Ingredients

Butter 80g (Soften)

Sugar 115 g

2 eggs

Vanilla Essence / Nutmeg ¼ tspn

Flour 115g

Baking Powder ¼ tspn

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

The butter should be kept at room temperature for sometime and should be soft before use, not melted.

With the help of a hand mixer, cream the butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Add in the sugar, part by part and cream with the hand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat the eggs with vanilla essence and add them into the sugar and butter mixture. Mix it well.

Sieve the flour and baking powder together. Add in the flour into the mixture. Do not mix.

Fold in the flour into the mixture with a spatula by running it along the sides. Once the flour is incorporated, you can add in raisins or chopped almonds if you like, and fold again.

Mix it along the sides, so as to avoid over mixing.

Grease a cake mould with fat on all sides and dust it with flour, to avoid the cake from sticking onto the mould OR Line the cake mould with butter paper on all sides.

Turn the cake batter into the mould, tap it on the bottom to even it on top.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 180 degree Celsius.

Cool it for ten minutes.

You may loosen the sides with the knife before turning the mould onto a plate.

Variation: For Chocolate Cake, reduce flour by 20gms and add in 20gms of cocoa powder in its place.

For Simple Icing:

Ingredients

Butter 30g

Icing Sugar 70g

Vanilla Essence few drops

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add in softened butter and with the hand mixer, cream it until light and fluffy.

Add in the sugar and vanilla essence and cream it until light and fluffy.